Congratulations
by Panda0990
Summary: He wears a convincing smile yet still refuses to talk about it. "I'm okay" he says over and over again, but then one fateful night it becomes apparent that Elliot Stabler is anything but. Olivia Benson vows to help him despite their history and while, yes, she had expected it to be challenging, there was one thing that she hadn't seen coming. Marriage.
1. Chapter 1

Olivia

Olivia Benson had been in the middle of her self-defense class when her phone rang. She didn't hear it of course seeing as how it was safely locked away within the confines of her temporary locker at the time, but a surprise voicemail awaited her regardless.

Unaware of this fact, Olivia carried on with her class just as she would any other day. Sweat poured profusely down her body as she challenged herself to keep going. She felt some pain of course, but she didn't care. In fact, she hardly even noticed it because right now she was in control. She was safe, and felt even safer at the end of each lesson. She was learning, she was progressing, she was _healing_; finally, six months after that psycho had kidnapped her.

Eventually the instructor dismissed class for the day and Olivia smiled as a sense of satisfaction flooded her system. The tension from her long days at work always managed to disappear after her lessons and today was no different.

Olivia sighed happily and wiped the sweat off her face with a clean towel before making her way back into the women's locker room. She twisted off her lock and opened the metal door with ease. She then reached inside her bag and checked her phone to see if anyone from work had tried to reach her, apparently they had.

Three missed calls.

_Great._

Olivia unlocked her phone and replayed the voicemails with one hand, while her other hand held a black sports bottle to her lips so she could chug down the cold water from within.

The first message was from Nick.

"_Hey Liv, give me a call okay? It's important, bye."_

The next was a message from a random ad agency that was trying to sell her solar panels for whatever reason.

Then there was the last message. It was from…from…

"Hey Olivia, it's Kathleen" her voice remained at a whisper as she carried on, "listen I'm really not supposed to be talking to you right now, because my mom would flip, but I just can't do this anymore. Listen it's about my dad, okay?

I know you guys were more than just partners, you were best friends and I know he would want you to know about this, so here it goes…My dad didn't just drop off of the face of the earth. He didn't forget about you, I'm pretty sure that would be an impossible thing for him to do at this point.

My Dad has been in a coma for the past year and…well…my mom didn't want you to know about it because we believe that he was on his way to see you when he was hit. She kind of hates you right now, but I know my dad doesn't. He couldn't. But uh anyways he just woke up this morning and _really _wants to see you. So if you could please just stop by…? Possibly? Please? Heh. We're at Mercy Hospital room 178. Thanks, bye."

Olivia was frozen. She couldn't believe it, she just couldn't believe it. Elliot had been in a coma?! Why didn't anyone tell her? Why hadn't the Stabler family told anyone? Wait a minute, he was on his way to see _her_ when he was _hit_? Hit by who? With that? And why didn't Kathy want Olivia to see Elliot? Was she jealous or something?

None of it made sense, not really. Yet, it had to of been the truth. Kathleen wouldn't just make up a story like that!

It was strange. A year ago she would have given anything to talk to just _one _member of the Stabler family, but now? Now the thought made her palms sweat and her heart race. The thought of _him _made her both nervous and furious all at once.

Only now that fury was replaced with an entirely different emotion. One she couldn't quite put her finger on, but it made her heart flutter and her face break out into a genuine smile without her even noticing.

Elliot was o-_kay_. Not only was he okay, but he also wanted to see her. Now.

With that thought Olivia grabbed her stuff and practically ran out the door.

She needed to see him. She needed the reassurance that this was _real. _She needed it like she needed oxygen.

She needed her best friend back.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for all of your reviews and support of this story. I do not own ANY of these characters. They belong to the TV show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit created by Dick Wolf. **

**Enjoy. **

Kathleen

She checked her wrist watch once more and frowned. Kathleen had called Olivia over an hour ago, where the hell was she? Was she even coming? Or had she given up on her father just like everyone else? Not that she could blame her of course.

Kathleen was pretty sick of him too.

Speaking of which…

"Hey there _chicky_. Thanks for coming. Now that you're here maybe they'll finally let me go." He hopped off of the bed to stand up, stumbling slightly as he did so.

"But dad-"

"Shhhhh! Shut the fuck up okay, don't even start."

"Dad-"

"I said be quiet!"

Kathleen flinched at her dad's raised voice and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

She glared at the man walking away from her as he placed his hands alongside the walls in order to keep himself from falling down. She still found it hard to believe that this _bum_ was actually related to her. Elliot Stabler. A decorated police officer. A former marine. A man whose life experiences would impress anyone willing to listen.

Yes, _that _guy was the same guy who was no doubt on his way to annoy some of the hospital staff members. The man wearing the stained white t-shirt over his inflated beer-belly. The man who smelled like he hadn't bathed in weeks and probably _hadn't. _The man who slept with a new woman every night, since his divorce from Kathleen's mother. The man who was sadly depressed and turned to alcohol every time he felt sobbing his heart out.

It was unbelievable.

Her father used to be strong. He used to be respected by anyone and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.

He used to actually give a damn!

Now however, it seemed like he didn't want to be here. Like he was tired and would soon give up on life itself if someone didn't light a fire under his ass, and soon.

Kathleen had tried on several occasions to snap him out of it, everyone had, but he just wouldn't listen. So that's why she called Olivia.

Olivia would know what to do. She knew him probably more than Kathleen's mom did, but that wasn't saying much. The thought of her dad's former partner made Kathleen groan as she buried her head in her hands.

_I can't __**believe**__ I lied to her. _

The sad thing was that the lie had been fabricated all too easily by the young college student's mind. The only concern she had at this point was to get Olivia over to the hospital as soon as possible; the more dramatic the better, right? The truth was that her dad hadn't been in a coma, not at all. The only reason he was in the hospital now was because he had fallen down a flight of stairs and passed out.

There was a lot more to the story—obviously—and Kathleen planned to tell Olivia _everything_ as soon as she saw her.

That is, if her dad gave her the opportunity to do so.

"I wanna go home!" she heard him slur from outside "You can't keep me here, ass holes! I'm a cop! I'll arrest all of your asses."

Kathleen scoffed at her dad's shouting and rolled her eyes.

_Ugh. He's so annoying! _

Kathleen heard a hushed voice, probably one of the nurses instructing him to calm down and go back to his room until the doctor arrived to examine him.

"No! I'm _fine_! I fell down, who careees-ah! People fall down all the time, you stupid bitch. Honestly, haven't you figured that out by now?"

"Elliot?"

_Oh God_—Kathleen thought—_I recognize that voice_.

Kathleen's eyes widened in fear as she rushed over to the entrance of her dad's room and peeped around the corner, to make sure she had heard correctly.

Yup, it was her alright.

There she was, Olivia Benson standing in the middle of the hallway in what appeared to be work-out clothes. Her hair was in a short ponytail and her face was vacant of any make-up. She looked the same, just a bit heavier than before, but that didn't matter.

She was still beautiful in Kathleen's eyes, and would no doubt be in her dad's as well.

When she finally took the time to take in the expression on Olivia's face, the sight of it made her want to cry as the reality of her actions finally set in. She looked positively devastated and it was all Kathleen's fault for dragging her back into their fucked up lives. She had hurt Olivia by lying to her, she had deeply _deeply_ hurt her, and the guilt of doing so would haunt the young blonde for years to come.

"Shit" Kathleen mumbled.

If Olivia noticed Kathleen's presence, she didn't show it. Instead she kept her eyes fixed on Kathleen's idiot of a father, frozen to her spot like she was afraid to move.

Afraid to breathe.

* * *

Olivia

Well, he sounded like Elliot. He looked kind of like Elliot. But was it really him?

"Elliot?"

He turned around at the sound of his name being called and leaned against the receptionist's desk with an annoyed look on his face. When he realized exactly who it was that he was looking at, his expression mirrored exactly what she was feeling.

Shock.

He seemed at a temporary loss for words. Time itself seemed to stop for a moment as the few people in this wing of the hospital stopped talking, sensing the tension between the man and woman in front of them. That moment quickly passed however when a goofy grin transformed Elliot's features.

He pointed a shaky finger at his old partner when he spoke.

"Heeeeey! I know youuuuu." He turned towards one of the nurses nearby and whispered, "I know her. Is she sexy or _what_?" The nurse was about to respond when Elliot snickered and cut her off.

"Well too bad lady, you can't have her, okay? She's _mine_." He said that last word with venom in his voice, only half joking.

"You're drunk," said Olivia.

He turned back towards her and nodded his head a little too enthusiastically in response. He was tempted to run over to her, but knew he would fall and then most likely pass out once that happened. Through his alcohol tainted mind, Elliot had enough common sense to crawl over to Olivia instead.

She was still frozen to her spot when he reached her. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to run, but for some reason she just couldn't do it.

Elliot quickly wrapped his arms around her legs and pulled her in close, rubbing his face against her…um…

"Elliot!" Olivia shrieked before she tried pushing him off of her.

"No, no, no, NO. I'm sorry Livy, but you're stuck with me. I don' never ever ever lever never wanna let you go. Mmk?" He then dramatically cried out, "Don't leave meeee…hehehehhe….eeee."

Olivia's moment of shock quickly wore off and her anger returned full force. Drunk or not, what did he think? That this was some sort of joke? That she would forgive him like nothing had ever happened and everything would go back to normal?

_Oh, __**hell**__ no._

"Get off me Elliot." Her tone was calm, too calm. If Elliot had been sober he would've had enough common sense to back off, but he wasn't so he didn't.

Instead he said, "NO, I love you."

"I said _get off _you jackass!"

When he refused to let go Olivia dug her nails into his back and twisted. His dumb ass still wouldn't let go, not even after she drew blood!

Olivia was so pissed in that moment that her body began to tremble. Her fists clenched at her sides as she glared down at her ex-partner. Her vision was starting to turn red, literally.

This was _not_ the Elliot Stabler she used to know and if he didn't let go of her soon, she was for real going to shank him. If that didn't work, she would shoot him in the fucking dick. He had hurt her more than anyone else ever had in her entire life and here he was _hugging_ her like that was somehow okay? He didn't have any right to touch her, let alone hug her!

Nah ah, not after what he did.

And Kathleen! Oh, Kathleen had some nerve as well, calling her up in the middle of the night telling her some bull shit of a story just so she could use Olivia for her own personal gain. Based off of the way everything was going it didn't take a genius to figure out what had _actually _happened.

Elliot had messed up big time, and she had been called in to "fix him".

_Like hell. _

It seemed all of those hours spent in self-defense class were finally going to come in handy after all.

"Get off of me you son of a bitch!"

Olivia wasn't even aware of her movements in the next few minutes, all she knew was that she wanted to make _him_ feel all the hurt that she had felt when he left.

She was going to make him _pay_.

And with that ladies and gentlemen, Olivia Benson's mind temporarily went bye-bye as her anger swallowed her whole and her mind blocked out everything that was going on around her. To say she "snapped" would be an understatement.

Olivia sounded like a mad woman as she went on the offense. She was cussing at him in every language that she knew and (much to Elliot's surprise) she managed, to break out of his grip and land quite a few good punches on him before he decided to fight back.

The next thing Olivia knew, they were rolling on the hospital floor as they both fought to gain the upper-hand. Elliot was saying something, but she didn't hear a word that came out of his mouth because she was too focused on trying to _kill him_. Literally.

Finally it seemed that despite being a drunken loser at the moment, Elliot was still the stronger of the two. He roughly pinned her wrists to the floor and moved the rest of his body weight on top of her, deciding to wait until she stopped cursing and squirming around before he made a move.

It took a while, but eventually Olivia calmed down enough to think coherently once more. She stopped moving and her chest heaved as she tried to get a grip. She avoided Elliot's eyes and looked around the room, realizing that everyone was staring at them.

She heard someone say that security was on their way up and would be there shortly.

"Liv?"

She shook her head, refusing to look into those damn blue eyes of his knowing full well that if she did, her anger would soon disappear.

She wasn't ready for that yet.

She wasn't ready to forgive him.

"Olivia, I'm _sorry_. I'm so so sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you and, and-"

Olivia looked at him then with tears in her eyes. She bit her now trembling lip and tried extremely hard not to cry.

Elliot's grip on her loosened and tears of his own began to develop. He didn't want to see her cry, he didn't want her to feel any pain of any kind.

"Oh, _honey_," his voice cracked as he too tried to keep the tears at bay.

Elliot quickly moved off of her and sat up, pulling her with him as he did so. He rocked her back and forth, hoping his embrace would give her some kind of comfort.

Olivia quickly wrapped her own arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Her shoulders began to shake as a series of broken sobs escaped her.

A single tear escaped one of Elliot's eyes and rolled down his cheek when a horrifying thought occurred to him.

_I've never seen her cry before. __**I**__'__**m **__the one who did this to her. I'm the one who caused this. __**Me.**_

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

A small stereo was playing inside Olivia Benson's bathroom while she showered. Steam filled the small space as it escaped the shower head and spread to every inch of the room. This was always something she did whenever her life became too stressful and she needed a moment to just take a step back and relax. She could have stayed inside that shower for hours on end, never once tiring of the way it felt to have steamy hot water running down her body.

She couldn't help but smile as the song changed and one of her favorites began to play. It was "One Summer Night" by the Danleers. She swayed to the beat and slowly lathered her body up with soap. She sang the familiar lyrics and allowed herself to escape reality, even it was only for a few minutes.

"One summer Night

We fell in love

One summer night

I held you tight

You and I

Under the moon of love

Moon of love"

Several other tracks played afterwards. Time passed in a blur and she wasn't sure how long she had been in that shower, but eventually her relaxation time came to an end when the water turned ice cold.

She quickly turned her shower knob all the way to the left until the water was completely shut off. She then grabbed her towel off of a nearby rack and dried herself before wrapping her hair up. Finally she put her fluffy pink robe on and tied the belt around her waist, loving the way it felt against her skin.

The tired sergeant sighed as reality came crashing back down on her. She wiped off the steam covered mirror with the palm of her hand and replayed the events from two days ago in her mind. She knew what she had to do, she knew what she had promised, but that didn't mean it was going to be easy.

You see, after her confrontation with Elliot, the night's events had taken an interesting turn.

_The doctor had finally decided to show up as well as two uniformed men that were trailing closely behind him. The doctor paused mid-stride and allowed the security guards to go in front of him, not wanting to get in the way. _

_The two security guards eyed Elliot and Olivia up and down, not quite sure why they had been called up in the first place. The couple seemed fine, except for the man who had a bruise forming around his now swollen eye. Still. They were embracing, surely that was a good thing?_

_The taller of the two guards then turned to the room and asked, "What the hell happened?" _

_There were only about ten people on this side of the hospital, in this particular area. The receptionist, a few nurses, a random girl in the corner, these two, and three other patients. _

_The receptionist—a Middle Eastern woman—quickly filled them in on what had transpired. Nothing really happened after that. Olivia turned on her charm and assured them that everything was alright. She then flashed her badge and the security guards backed off trusting that she had the situation under control. _

_Being a sergeant definitely had its perks. _

_The doctor watched the security guards leave and looked down at the two people in front of him through tired eyes. His smile was tight-lipped and Olivia knew from his expression that this doctor was exhausted and probably in no mood to deal with a difficult patient right now. He politely asked Elliot to go back to his room so he could examine him…_

"_Doctor I can't right now. She needs me." _

_Elliot looked down at her then. _

"_I'm not going anywhere ever again, okay Liv? __**Never.**__" _

_Olivia snorted in disbelief. _

"_Yeah. Sure."_

"_What? I'm not!"_

"_Oh come on El, not even to go to the bathroom?" _

_Elliot smiled at his old friend and tightened his grip around her body. _

"_Is that your way of telling me that you wanna watch me take a shit? You're such a creeper."_

_Olivia chuckled and smacked his chest half-heartedly. _

"_You're so lame."_

_Their eyes met then and they both smiled as they admired one another. _

_**Those eyes.**__ They both thought. __**Those beautiful beautiful eyes.**_

_Olivia helped Elliot up then and told him to listen to the doctor. To her surprise Elliot didn't want to let her go. In fact he fought so hard to hold onto her that it made her pause in surprise. _

_Kathleen the silent observer stepped in then. She wiped a few tears off her face and told her dad that everything would be alright. _

"_Olivia's not going anywhere dad," she said, "don't worry we'll be right outside." _

_Elliot glanced over at Olivia and made her pinky swear that she wouldn't leave. After he had calmed down enough to follow the doctor back into his room, Kathleen crossed her arms over her chest. She bit her lip and looked over at Olivia with guilt-filled eyes. _

"_Come on. I owe you an explanation."_

_And so they ventured over to the cafeteria and sat down. Olivia barely got her butt in the chair when Kathleen started talking. She carried on for about an hour, but Olivia never once interrupted her. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't think of anything to say. So much had happened since Elliot left SVU. It made Olivia's heart ache to know that she hadn't been the only one who went through hell this past year. _

"_I hate to drag you into this Olivia, I really do but I don't know who else to turn to. When he was in that hospital Dr. Petrova told us that the only way my dad was going to heal is if he had a good support system. Sure, he's gotten better and everything but he's starting to slip again what with the family separated and all. Elizabeth and Richard moved to Florida with my mom, so they're no help and Maureen has her own family to worry about._

_She just gave birth to two boys and I don't want to worry her any more than necessary. I managed to help him out these past few weeks but now I'm beyond worried. The other night I found a letter from his apartment manager. Apparently my dad hasn't been paying his rent recently and if he doesn't pay up, like now, they're going to kick him out on the streets. _

_My dad's broke. He blew it big time and I literally have nowhere to put him. He keeps telling me he has it under control, but I know that he doesn't. There's no way! I mean come on, his little apartment is going to be taken away from him. I feel so sad for him, but so mad at the same time. I don't know. _

_It's like I want to help him, but there's nothing more I can do. I just…I can't, you know? My grades are slipping and that's something I can't allow to happen. Ever. _

_The only reason I'm even in school is because of my scholarship, anything below a C and I'm __**out.**__"_

_Olivia gulped and ran her fingers through her hair, something she often did when stressed. _

_**Oh my God, this poor family. I can't even imagine…**_

_Olivia threaded her hands together and rested her elbows on top of the cheap plastic table in front of her. She met Kathleen's eyes then with a determined stare. _

"_What do you need me to do?"_

The buzzing of her phone made Olivia jump. She glanced down and saw that it was a text from Kathleen.

-THANK YOU AGAIN! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME. I'LL SEE YOU GUYS TOMORROW! LOVE YOU BOTH.

Olivia grabbed her phone and checked the time. It was four which meant if she didn't hurry up pretty soon traffic was going to be crazy.

Olivia quickly finished getting dressed and twenty five minutes later the beautiful brunette was driving through the streets of New York. She followed the directions her phone gave her and suddenly felt uneasy. She knew damn well where this GPS was taking her and she instinctively locked her doors.

This was a sketchy part of town and she knew it, everyone did. You didn't come down here unless you were ready to risk being stabbed, shot, robbed, raped, or killed. She knew she could handle herself, but still her instincts screamed at her to turn around.

Olivia gripped her steering wheel tightly and kept her eyes trained firmly on the road in front of her. She didn't dare glance over because she already knew what she would see. This was where the infamous "wall" was.

There had to of been at least a hundred dangerous men and possibly a few women leaning against that wall right now. She knew they were staring her car down, but she pressed on regardless.

After a few more turns Olivia ended up outside of Elliot Stabler's new apartment. She gasped when she took in the sight in front of her.

_You've got to be kidding me. People actually live here?_

There was graffiti everywhere, windows were broken, there were beer bottles and discarded cigarettes littering the sidewalk, and the complex itself seemed like it was just moments away from crumbling down. It was depressing to look at.

Olivia shook her head and quickly got out of the car not wanting to be here any longer than necessary. She locked the car behind her and instinctively touched her gun, feeling safer once she felt the cold metal beneath her fingertips.

She walked upstairs to apartment 2B. She didn't even bother knocking and unlocked the door with the key Kathleen had given her. Once inside she heard a series of moans from behind a closed door and what sounded like the thumping of a head board against a wall.

She heard an unknown woman moan Elliot's name and Olivia couldn't help but make a gaging noise in the back of her throat.

_Ugh!_

To make matters worse this place was a fucking dump! There was trash everywhere, spoiled food, no furniture, and oh my _God_, was that a fucking rat?! Holy shit it was.

She didn't want to waste any time in getting the hell out of there so she withdrew her weapon and quickly walked over to Elliot's room.

She then kicked down the door and shouted: "Freeze! Police!"

The woman (who was apparently on top) screamed and flailed around like a fish before she eventually fell off of the bed. Elliot put his hands in the air and glared at Olivia, not even bothering to cover himself.

Eww or his condom covered dick.

Olivia grimaced and quickly raised her other hand in front of her face in order to block out that horrifying image. She was seriously going to vomit.

"What the fuck, Liv!"

The woman pulled the sheet from off of the bed and wrapped it around her body. She looked at Elliot and Olivia suspiciously.

"Wait you know her?"

"Unfortunately."

Olivia couldn't help but laugh at his sudden change in attitude towards her. She had expected as much.

The woman rolled her eyes and stood up, then grabbed her tacky pink dress off of the floor along with her matching pink pumps. She stomped over to the bathroom and slammed the door, which seemed to rattle the whole apartment.

Olivia lowered her gun and quickly put it away. She ordered Elliot to get dressed and pack a bag, not even bothering to try and be polite about it.

"You're coming with me."

"What are you high? I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Oh, yes you are."

"Oh, no I'm not."

Olivia groaned impatiently and kicked his bed. He was way stronger than her and they both knew it. She wasn't going to get him out of that bed unless she did something drastic, daring, down-right insane! Olivia then looked down at the condom and could hardly believe what she did next.

She walked over to Elliot and grabbed the condom off of his dick and smacked him with it. Cum shot out of the condom and landed all over the place. Elliot shrieked in disgust and quickly jumped up off of the bed. He definitely didn't see that one coming.

He shivered and quickly wiped his cheek off with the back of his hand.

"Eww! Eww! Jesus Christ, Olivia! What the fuck is that matter with you?"

"Get. Dressed. And tell your little hooker friend good-bye. You're leaving this place and believe me when I say, you won't be coming back."

Elliot stood there quietly for a moment. He was silently arguing with himself on what he should do next, but instead he just said this as he began pulling on a random pair of pants:

"Hey, her name is Ecstasy, okay? And she is a _very _nice lady. Just so you know."

"You tell 'em baby!" Ecstasy hollered from behind the bathroom door.

Olivia tried her best to keep a straight face, but knew she was most likely failing miserably.

"Riiiight. Okay, well, Elliot hurry up. You have five minutes and then we're out of here."

She quickly left the room and closed the door behind her.

She leaned her back against the wall and quickly covered her mouth when she felt a fit of giggles burst out of her.

_I can't believe I just did that!_

She looked down at her other hand and instantly regretted doing so.

_Uggggggggggh! NASTY! It's sticky!_

She didn't know what to do seeing as how there wasn't a single clean thing in this apartment so she instead settled for wiping "it" on his wall and waiting downstairs safely inside her car.

_God help me._

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? **

**Thanks for reading. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, I love reading them. **

"Elliot for the last time, I'm sorry. Okay? Just get in the damn car."

Olivia was getting frustrated. Beyond frustrated. Okay fine, Elliot was fucking pissing her off. He was such a big baby! If he didn't get inside her car within the next five minutes, she was seriously going to run him over.

Elliot remained where he was and continued to give Olivia the death glare with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. She would have been terrified, if it weren't for his giant belly. Right now he just looked like an annoyed Santa Clause that could easily be won over with some cookies. Ha!

Elliot shook his head at the angry look she was giving him. She had no right to be mad! None whatsoever. If anyone should be mad it was him, I mean she _slapped_ him with a _condom_, who does that shit?

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you calm down. First you kick down my door, then you abuse me, and then to top it all off you killed Freddy! You're a bully, lady. "

"Okay, how the hell was I supposed to know that that _thing_, was your pet?"

Elliot's voice cracked dramatically and he fanned his face as he pretended to cry. He loved giving her a hard time, the way she reacted to certain things was hilarious. Like right now.

"He has a name, okay? And feelings. He was my" Elliot inhaled sharply and looked away from her. He then bit into his fist and tried to keep a straight face as he said the next part "my _little buddy_."

They both looked at the shoe box that Elliot had placed on the hood of Olivia's car. The thought of what was in there made her skin crawl and they both knew it. This only made it all the more fun for Elliot though.

"It's a rat Elliot. Honestly, I thought I was doing you a favor when I killed it. Sorry."

Elliot looked at her then. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel in front of her. Her face was flushed and the corner of her lip was twitching very subtly which meant she was close to her breaking point.

He knew that it was time for him to stop torturing her. His fun was over for the time being, but he didn't mind. After all, Elliot had dragged this out for a good half an hour and now officially considered them even. She got him and he had returned the favor.

Elliot dropped his act and smiled beautifully at Olivia and (although she hated to admit it) she was momentarily distracted by the sight. The corners of his eyes crinkled up and he laughed, a sound that she rarely ever got to hear. His smile and kind eyes suddenly made her forget why she was angry at him in the first place. It made her forget why she was even here.

Then she gave his body a once over and was quickly reminded. Elliot wasn't himself right now and while she had paid off the debt he owed on his apartment that didn't mean that everything was okay. It was far from okay actually. Her fatty of a friend needed to be taken care of and that was exactly what she planned to do.

Olivia shook the cobwebs from her mind and smiled back at him.

Much to her surprise Elliot picked up the shoe box with the dead rat inside and threw it over his shoulder where it landed in the garbage bin. He then picked up his duffle bag and walked over to the passenger side of her car and got in. A familiar sound shadowed Elliot with each step that he took and Olivia suddenly realized something. Something that absolutely blew her mind.

Elliot Stabler was wearing flip-flops!

**.**

* * *

.

Olivia and Elliot sat in tense silence as she made her way through the dangerous streets of New York. She knew they stood out like a sore thumb in her black 1965 Ford Mustang convertible, but what choice did she have when coming down here? There was no way she was going to risk being abandoned by a cab driver in this neighborhood.

All she could do was put the hood up and pray they would be left alone.

"Remind me again why you picked this neighborhood to live in," she said as she turned the corner.

Elliot shrugged.

"It was cheap. Plus I used to be a real bad ass in this neighborhood, back in the day at least."

Olivia snorted and looked at him with a smirk on her face.

"I'm sure."

"Fine, don't believe me."

Elliot smiled at the memories of his youth. The truth was, at one point he had absolutely loved this place. He loved the challenge, the struggle, the constant adrenaline rush he got just from walking out the door.

The last time Elliot had been here, was years ago. Kathy had just given birth to Maureen and they both thought they could make it on their own. They had been naïve of course and ended up moving back in with her parents six months later, but _oh_ how he had loved it here.

A lot of the locals had feared him at one point or the other. He always got into fights with different men, sometimes three or four of them at once and _won_ every time. You see the difference was that Elliot hadn't been some every day punk like his opponents were. Oh no, he was a marine and knew exactly how to take care of himself.

It had been _awesome_.

He was brought out of his musings when Olivia suddenly plugged her phone into the auxiliary cord and a rush of sound came flooding out of her speakers. Elliot raised his eye brows in surprise when he realized just how much money it must have taken for her to get this car up to date so it could have a place for an auxiliary cord in the first place.

How did they even do that? How long had it taken?

_Interesting_.

Elliot looked around feeling embarrassed by her music choice especially considering where they were. She was playing some bubble gum pop music that he had never even heard of before.

_Is she trying to kill us? _

Elliot hid his face with his hand and slid down in his seat. People were starting to stare.

Liv didn't care though. Nope she was just slamming her palm against the steering wheel in time with the beat and singing.

"_It's like I got this music in my mind_

_Saying it's gonna be alright_

_Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_

_And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate_

_Baby I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_Shake it off_

_Shake it off"_

When Olivia began to slow down at a stop light Elliot quickly took her phone off the aux cord and replaced it with his own. Another car was pulling up next to them and it had four or five men inside that didn't look very friendly. He wasn't going to take any chances.

"Hey!" she began to protest, but Elliot turned up the volume and cut her off. By the time the other car pulled up the men inside heard a completely different song that surprised them.

What surprised them even more was the white guy next to them that was bobbing his head to the beat and rapping in time with the artist.

The men in the car couldn't help, but laugh and shake their heads. I mean they loved Biggie Smalls too but damn that was some funny shit.

Elliot and Olivia were lucky that these four had a sense of humor. After all the driver was the leader of a now rising street gang known as the Black Assassins. A .22-caliber pistol was currently strapped to his belt and a machine gun lay on the floor of the back seat- just in case. The man in the passenger's side was his cousin who also happened to be a member of the gang. As for the idiots in the back, they were his cousin's friends. Not his.

They were also high as fuck which seemed to work in Elliot and Olivia's favor.

"Look at this guy!"

"Oh my God, fucking white people, man!"

The men continued to cackle and howl at this crazy fat guy next to them and Elliot decided to play dumb. He looked at them and smiled. He continued to rap and they applauded him in good humor. Even the driver! The two passengers in the backseat couldn't help, but join in when the chorus came up. They loved this guy's energy, he was funny as hell.

"_Biggie Biggie Biggie _

_Can't you see?_

_Sometimes your words just hypnotize me_

_And I just love your flashy ways_

_Guess that's why they broke _

_And you're so paid"_

When the light finally changed and Olivia took off ahead of them, Elliot glanced over and saw that she was laughing hysterically.

He turned down the stereo and glared at her.

"And what's so funny? Hmm? I just saved our lives you know, unlike _you._"

She shook her head and made sure not to laugh when she said this:

"Hey! I didn't say _anything, _Slim Shady."

**.**

* * *

.

Brian shrugged off his jacket and threw his keys on top of the counter as soon as he got through the door. He was so damn tired and the only thing on his mind right now was cracking open a cold beer and watching a little bit of TV

"Liv? Liv baby I'm home, are we still going out to dinner or what?"

When no one responded he checked the time on the oven and shrugged. It was only 5:30 maybe she was stuck in traffic? Whatever, he could wait. Besides he needed to take a shower anyways.

He took out his phone and sent Olivia a quick text before he undressed and hopped inside the shower.

**-Hey babe I'm home. Text me when your almost here and let me know if you still want to go out to dinner. Love ya.**

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

Once Elliot and Olivia finally managed to make it back to safety, Olivia coughed violently and quickly rolled down her windows. She had been breathing through her mouth for far too long and desperately needed some fresh air. Elliot's stench was just too much. I mean honestly, her eyes were watering! Couldn't he smell himself? Didn't he know that he smelled like a ripe combination of vomit and piss?

Furthermore how had she not noticed how awful he smelled until just a few minutes ago? Was the sight of him really so distracting that it made her unaware of his odor? Sure, she had missed him, but had she really missed him that much?

_Apparently so_.

While Olivia was trying to keep herself from throwing up, Elliot couldn't help but stare at her. He just couldn't believe that his old partner was here, in the flesh. A long black winter coat was draped over her shoulders while a pair of work pants covered her legs. She had some make-up on but not a lot and her hair was different—longer. She had hardly said a word since the Biggie incident and Elliot was starting to get a little bit worried.

According to Kathleen, Olivia was going to give him a place to stay. Was she having doubts? Did she not want him around anymore? Elliot's breath hitched at that last thought. He shyly turned his attention to the passenger side window and stared out at the familiar streets.

Elliot felt envious of almost every person that he saw. They were wearing clothes, _nice clothes_. Clothes similar to the ones that he used to own himself.

It was autumn which meant that the leaves were changing color and the air was getting colder. People were out and about with jackets, sweaters, scarves, and beanies on; and what was he wearing?

Well he only had two outfits now and the one he had on was one of them. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, ripped jeans, and some sandals he had found at Good Will.

Elliot looked like a bum and he knew it, he hated it. But was else could he do? His divorce from Kathy had been a nasty one. Even the way she told him she wanted a divorce in the first place had been awful. He had come home from one of his favorite bars to find that all of his clothes were destroyed. A stack of divorce papers were on the kitchen table, Kathy and the twins were gone, and that was that.

Their bank accounts had been cleaned out because Kathy had taken _everything_. Everything? Yes, _everything. _All of the money that he had worked so hard for was taken from him just like that. The sad part was that Elliot couldn't even blame Kathy for hating him because he hated himself even more.

The constant guilt was crushing his very soul and right now all he needed was a friend. He needed Olivia probably more than she realized and that was why he wasn't arguing with her. He hadn't questioned where they were going or why because he trusted her. Quite frankly, he trusted her a lot more than he trusted himself right now.

Elliot took another glance at her and sighed when she wouldn't look back. Did he make her uncomfortable or something?

_Fuck._

Elliot turned his attention back to the passenger side window and propped his elbow against the car door. He leaned his chin against his closed fist and chewed on the corner of his lip. He was worried; very worried. And as he kept worrying Olivia remained silent. She didn't want to be rude and tell Elliot that he smelled, but _good God_ she couldn't take much more of this.

It was weird because Olivia wasn't usually a very squeamish person, but unlike most people she had a sensitive nose which meant if something smelled too strong it made her queasy. Right now, Elliot's smell didn't just make her queasy, oh no, it made her want to hurl and that was something she had never expected to happen. Ever.

Usually he smelled…well…_sexy_ and _manly_ she had never known if it was a certain cologne he wore or if it was just him, but _wow_ what a difference! He went from hunk to skunk real fast.

"You okay there, Liv?"

Olivia bit her lip and nodded her head as she gripped the steering wheel tightly in her hands.

_I'm almost home. I'm almost home. I'm almost home. I'm almost home. _

"What's wrong? Do you need to pull over?"

_Oh God, please stop talking._

She shook her head 'no' but her body was telling her that she probably should, especially since she kept getting all the red lights.

"Liv pull over."

Olivia _wanted_ to pull over, but she was afraid that if she did she wouldn't be able to get back in the car. Then all of a sudden she spotted someone, someone that made her want to cry for joy and scream, "Thank you Jesus!" It was the answer to her unspoken prayers.

_Perfect! _

She wasted no time in pulling over and jumping out of the car, gasping for breath as she did so. She placed her hands on her knees and tried to focus on anything but that God awful smell.

She felt fine until she smelled Elliot again. Great, he was standing right next to her. Olivia held her breath and stood up straight before she grabbed his hand and made a bee-line for the wonderful, wonderful man that she had spotted just moments ago.

When they reached him, Olivia dropped Elliot's hand like a hot plate.

"Excuse me sir, can I borrow that?" she asked, motioning towards the water hose in his hands.

The man looked up in surprise, but handed it over regardless. There was no way he was going to refuse this pretty lady of anything.

Olivia turned towards Elliot with the hose in her hands and smiled. By the time Elliot realized what was happening, it was too late. All it took was a flip of a switch and_ bam_ a sudden rush of water came gushing out.

Elliot put his hands up and tried to protect his face from the freezing cold water, but it was all to no avail. Olivia grimaced when she saw that a mix of dirt and some other yellow stuff was coming off of him.

"Gah! Stop it! Olivia! Olivia! Turn this water off right now!" He yelled at her over the pounding of the water.

"I'm sorry El, but you reek!"

"What? I'm not a geek! You're the geek!"

"What? That's not what I…never mind just take your shirt off!"

"What are you crazy? It's like fifty degrees out here!"

"Elliot either take it off or I swear to God I will rip it off! Besides it will only take a few minutes. I have a blanket in the car!"

"Ah, God damn it Olivia Benson, I hate you!"

And with that, Elliot angrily peeled the wet sweatshirt off of his body and lifted his arms up so she could spray him some more. He didn't have a shirt on and Olivia still couldn't believe how big he had gotten in the past year. He must have gained at least 80 to 100 pounds.

Olivia made a gagging noise when she saw just how dirty Elliot was. Apparently he hadn't been taking very good care of himself.

Eesh she was going to make sure he showered at least three times once they got to her place.

She took a step towards him and ran her fingers through his greasy hair, not even caring that her expensive coat and boots were getting wet in the process. He didn't bother trying to fight her since he figured the less he fought the faster this nonsense would be over with. He spit out the water that kept getting in his mouth and mumbled a bunch of insults to Olivia.

She heard him, but didn't take it to heart because she was determined at this point. It didn't matter how long she had to spray him with a hose, she was going to get him as clean as humanly possible before he got back in her car.

After about twenty minutes Olivia decided that this was as good as it was going to get. She switched the hose back to its normal setting and handed it back to the nice man. He looked over at her with wide eyes and a comical expression on his face, but accepted it regardless.

She thanked him and looked over at Elliot who was now shivering. She had given him an ice cold shower, in the middle of November. He was freezing!

He was soaked and now his teeth were chattering. He had his arms wrapped around himself and water dripping down his body.

Olivia just smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Your welcome," she said before walking past him with a swing of her hips and her head held high.

"You suck! I hope you know that!"

* * *

Elliot looked around the unfamiliar street and pulled the blanket that Olivia had given him closer to his body. He had it draped over his head and could only imagine how ridiculous he looked. Olivia pulled into her new apartment's parking garage and turned off the engine.

She unbuckled herself then turned her body towards Elliot and gave him her full attention.

"Okay so here's the thing. You're going to live with me until I'm convinced that you can take care of yourself. That means absolutely _no drinking _since apparently that's become a problem for you. I don't trust you with alcohol, so stay away from it. Got it?"

Elliot looked up at her with wide blue eyes and nodded his head indicating that he did understand.

He was tired of being alone. He would be the perfect roommate if it meant having Olivia back in his life.

To be honest the fact that Elliot was so complacent right now scared the hell out of her. He was a fighter like her, or at least he used to be. Before he wouldn't take shit from anyone, but for some reason he was just rolling over and letting it happen. Was his spirit really that broken?

She quickly got over her shock and carried on.

"Good. Also, if you're going to live with me then you're going to have to get a job. Everyone else might be able to put up with your bull shit, but not me. I asked around and apparently one of my buddies from the post office is hiring. You have an interview with him on Monday so don't mess it up."

Elliot cleared his throat.

"Umm…I don't really have any clothes, especially not for a job interview."

Olivia didn't even hesitate with her response.

"That's fine. I'll loan you the money and you can pay me back when you're ready. You've got this Elliot. You've been through hell, but the time for mourning is over. Now it's time for you to get on with your life and believe me I _know_ how hard it is. I know it hurts. But you know what else I know? You're one of the strongest men that I've ever met. You're Elliot Stabler and I know that the real you, the Elliot that I know, is still in there."

She poked the area directly above his heart before she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"You can do this El. I'm going to make sure of it."

Elliot cracked a small smile at her words and pulled her in for a hug. No one had ever said something so encouraging to him in his entire life, at least not that he could remember.

He felt her relax against him and was glad that he didn't smell too bad anymore.

"Thank you" he whispered "Thank you for everything."

Olivia closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to enjoy being held in another man's arms. She couldn't help but feel touched by the gesture. She and Elliot rarely ever hugged and usually when they did it was to seek some type of comfort that no one else could give them. It was a weird relationship, but it was them. She squeezed his body tightly against hers and gently rubbed his back a few times before pulling away.

She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes and smiled causing Elliot to smile back without even realizing it. He loved it when she smiled. It somehow always managed to light up a room even on the darkest of days.

"You're welcome."

"I love you Liv."

Whether he meant as a brother, friend, or hopeful lover neither of them knew, but they both decided not to dwell on it.

What happened next surprised them both as Elliot reached up and cupped her cheek with his large hand. He had never done something like this before but she was just so precious to him. She was so sweet and kind and loyal and…_good._

"God, I love you," he repeated. And for once Elliot and Olivia allowed the moment between them to last a little bit longer than necessary. Neither of them pulled away or changed the subject, they just continued to gaze into each other's eyes. The heat between them started to build and if this had been a movie these two would have kissed by now.

It was a heavy moment, a tense moment. A moment where their eyes did all the talking rather than their mouths.

Olivia noticed that Elliot was gravitating closer to her and whether he was doing that on purpose or not she didn't know.

All she knew was that his lips were getting closer...

And closer...

And now they were so close she could feel his breath fanning against her lips. In that moment she was so damn thankful that Elliot was such a freak about his teeth. They were always clean, white, and shiny; even right now.

Olivia placed her own hand over Elliot's and bit her lip. She should have pulled away from him and ran, but instead all she said was:

"I know you do, El. And I love you too. Always have, always will"

Olivia's heart was racing and for once she felt hopeful—happy, something she hadn't felt in a very long time. Elliot felt the same and for some reason he secretly hoped that if anyone were to bring this woman any joy of any kind, it would be him.

Suddenly the moment was ruined when the thought of Brian popped into Olivia's head and she felt an insane amount of guilt flood her system.

What was she doing?

Olivia sighed and gently grabbed Elliot's hand before placing it back on his lap. She sat up and looked at him with a very serious expression on her face. She had to tell him, she just had to.

Elliot's brow crinkled at her sudden change in behavior. She would have never pulled away before, so why now?

"Um…look there's something that you need to know," she said.

Elliot dreaded whatever it was that she was going to tell him because he already knew that he wasn't going to like it.

Still he tried to remain casual about it. Calm, even.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Well, it won't just be the two of us staying in my apartment. I'm uh...sort of seeing someone."

Elliot narrowed his eyes at her before quickly looking away.

"Ah," he said with a frown on his face.

Well that hadn't been the response she was expecting.

_Is he…I don't know, mad or something? He can't be. Why would he be? _

The truth was Elliot didn't like the idea of sharing Olivia's attention with _anyone_ at the moment let alone some guy that he didn't know.

_Huh_

What surprised him the most though wasn't the fact that she was dating, it was how he was taking the news. In the past, whenever Olivia told him that she was seeing someone he didn't particularly care. At least not in a romantic way. Sure he would check the guy out to see if he liked him and would then proceed to kick said guy's ass if he didn't, but he had never really been jealous over it.

Before he would've felt happy to hear something like this, but now? Now he was angry, boiling beneath the surface and he didn't understand why.

_What the hell is the matter with me?_

Elliot didn't want to ruin the moment by being a jack ass so he dropped the frown and looked over at her with one giant, fake ass smile on his face. He wanted her to be happy, so if someone else made her feel that way then who was he to get in the way? He would just have to find a way to get over it, for her sake.

Elliot huffed out a small laugh and tried to contain his anger.

"Well I can't wait to meet him."

"Oh you already have," Olivia said with a chuckle before quickly getting out of the car.

"What? Nah ah! Who?"

.

* * *

.

Elliot hadn't stopped bugging her the whole way up to her apartment. The elevator wasn't working so they had been forced to take the stairs and with each new step came the same damn question.

"Liv come on who is it?"

_Who do I have to kill? _

"I already told you, you'll see in a minute."

"Why wait! Come on tell meeeeeee. Besides, I have to mentally prepare myself for this life changing event. If you guys live together then you must be serious. When's the wedding? Eh? Eh?"

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Enough Elliot."

"Nah ah! Nope. Not until you answer my question. Who is this guy? What does he do for a living? Is he hot or are your babies going to be ugly as all hell."

At that last remark Olivia turned towards him and jabbed a finger in his chest.

"Shut. Up."

"Tell me and I will," Elliot said with an annoying grin on his face.

Olivia threw her hands in the air and decided to just give up.

"Alright fine, it's Cassidy. Brian Cassidy. Thanks for ruining the surprise."

Olivia turned back around and continued walking up the stairs. Elliot didn't follow her lead at first, but after a minute or two she could hear a booming round of laughter coming from behind her.

Elliot was going to give her a hard time, she just knew it.

Olivia decided to ignore him and keep walking, but eventually she could hear his fat ass running to catch up with her. He was panting by the time he reached her which made her laugh. Elliot used to brag about how he could run four miles in forty minutes without stopping or slowing down, but now he couldn't even jog up one flight of stairs!

"Wait!" he gasped through both his laughter and lack of oxygen. "Is this…a…joke? You can't…be…serious!" he stopped and raised his arms above his head. He was trying to steady his breathing. "Olivia! Gah! Can you wait for five minutes? I'm so tired."

Olivia paused and turned around to look at him.

"Tired? Or fat?"

Elliot lowered his arms and glared at her.

"What? I'm not fat. I'm perfectly healthy."

"Oh please, your boobs are bigger than mine!"

"You're crazy, they are not."

Olivia shook her head and looked down at him like he was the saddest creature on the face of the earth.

"Sure keep living in denial," she said as she continued walking up the stairs.

Elliot frowned and looked down at his man boobs. He cupped them in his hands and squeezed.

His eyes widened.

He gulped.

And then looked down at the rest of himself.

_I can't see my own dick_, **he realized**, _holy shit when the hell did that happen! _

He then reached behind himself and cupped his ass with his hands. It used to be tight and firm, but now it was like squeezing two giant water balloons.

How had he missed this? How had he not seen himself getting bigger? The body he had once took pride in was gone. His abs were gone, his "happy trail" was gone, his biceps were gone, his ass was deflated and sad, and…

_Oh my God!_ _If I keep this shit up I'm going to end up on My 600 lb. Life!_

_._

* * *

.

By the time they reached Olivia's apartment, Elliot had become awfully quiet. Too quiet.

Olivia turned to Elliot and gently bumped his shoulder with her fist.

"You okay?"

Elliot sighed and shook his head.

"No, but I will be."

"Hey, if you want I can help you lose weight. I've gained at least twenty pounds myself. Maybe this is something we can do together?"

Elliot looked over at Olivia and smiled, feeling grateful.

"Ha! Thanks."

And with that Olivia opened the door and stepped inside to find Brian sitting on the couch sipping a cold beer.

"Hey honey, did you get my text?"

Before Olivia could answer, Elliot answered for her.

"No sugar muffin I didn't."

Brian practically choked on the beer he was drinking before he checked the label to make sure it wasn't expired or something. He then slowly looked up to find that Olivia had a guilty look on her face while _Elliot_ the douche bag had a wicked grin.

Brian's jaw clenched and he stood up in a fit of fury. Olivia took a moment to admire the suit that he had on. He always looked sexy when he dressed up like that, every man did. Then again the angry look he was directing at her kind of killed it.

He pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"What the _fuck_ is he doing here?"

Olivia put her hands out in front of her as she tried to calm him down.

"Bri. Bri. Honey? Breathe, okay? I can explain."

Brian couldn't believe it. He just couldn't! I mean honestly, Elliot had just up and disappeared! He had his time with her and he blew it, so now it was Brian's turn. He couldn't believe that she would just…let him back into her life. After _everything_ that happened? Everything?! Elliot was taking advantage of her, Brian could just tell so why couldn't she?

_It's because she's Olivia, that's why._

She was too damn selfless to turn her back on someone, even someone who turned their own back on her.

"Oh really, can you? Go ahead then! I can't _wait_ to hear this."

Olivia sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked over at Elliot with a pleading look on her face.

He got the hint.

"Liv, where's the bathroom? I could _really_ use a shower."

Olivia pointed to the door that was next to her bedroom.

"Over there. There's a cabinet next to it with some clean towels in it, feel free to use whichever one."

Elliot nodded and thanked her then quickly made himself scarce. He may not have liked it, but he knew that these two needed some privacy.

From the moment Elliot turned on Olivia's shower, he could hear them arguing. He couldn't understand them though which was incredibly disappointing because he _really _wanted to know what they were saying about him.

All he knew was that by the time he got out of the shower, Brian was gone and Olivia was sitting on the couch. Elliot wrapped a towel around his waist and joined her.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," she said as she continued to stare aimlessly at the blank TV.

"You sure?"

"Yup," she said popping the p at the end.

Elliot nodded his head and stood up so that he could put some clothes on.

"Okay. Well...if you change your mind..."

"Thanks"

"No, Olivia. Thank _you_."

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** **Wow! Oh my goodness the number of reviews for this story skyrocketed last chapter! Thank you all very much. I'm so glad you like it so far! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!**

Thanksgiving Day

Elliot awoke with a start when he heard what sounded like a loud _bang_ echo around him. It was strange. For a split second everything was different. For a moment—a small, blissful, miniscule moment—he forgot where he was and why.

He couldn't see because the sleep from the previous night was still in his eyes. Right now everything was a blur of colors and shapes. He was at home—his old home—of course he was, why wouldn't he be? He hadn't been sleeping on his old friend's couch, but rather in his own bed. He was a father and husband who had to protect his wife and three kids who were still living at home.

He especially had to protect the baby. _His _baby. His three year old son, Eli.

At the thought of his youngest child, Elliot sprang into action. He rolled over and unexpectedly hit the ground which managed to knock the breath right out of him. He was in a panic. His heart began to race and he instinctively called out to his wife, Kathy.

Where was she? Was she okay? What the hell was going on?

Elliot sat up and blinked once, twice, three times before his brain finally started working again.

This was not his home, this was not his bed, and the laugh that he heard off in the distance did not belong to his wife. It was Olivia. That's right. This was Olivia's home and he had spent the night here last night. He was also going to continue staying here for the foreseeable future.

He then heard the pitter patter of bare feet against hardwood floors approach him.

It was her.

She leaned her arms over the couch and smiled down at him. A set of pink and black flannel pajamas covered her body. Her hair was parted into two braids on either side of her face, while her bangs remained off to the side. She had no make-up on and Elliot couldn't help but think that she looked freakin adorable. She looked like a little girl, so innocent and happy.

It was nice to see her like this since she was usually so…_tough_.

The one thing that he couldn't quite figure out though was why she was so damn happy. She wasn't a morning person, so what was going on?

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey, sorry! I dropped a pot in the kitchen on accident. I'm going to make some mashed potatoes, but keep in mind that this is _me _we're talking about here, so I took some pre-cautions. I bought some chocolate chip cookies from the market so then if I mess up I'll at least have _something_ to take. Even Munch is bringing something, isn't that great? Oh, man. You have no idea how excited I am! Nothing can bring me down today, nothing!"

Elliot nodded sleepily and stretched out his body while he was still on the floor. A loud and obnoxious _yawn_ escaped his lips and Olivia waved a hand in front of her nose. She could smell his morning breath all the way from where she stood. Elliot then scratched his chest and smacked his lips together a few times before he finally responded to what she had just told him.

"Mashed potatoes, huh? For what? Are we having dinner with Munch or something? Do I have to go? Or is staying here and ordering a pizza an option?"

Olivia scoffed and placed a hand on one of her hips while the other remained on the couch.

"Dude, its Thanksgiving! Tonight is the annual Thanksgiving feast at the Captain's house. You know, the one that you never go to because you usually have dinner at your in-laws place. Didn't Kathleen tell you? She's meeting us there later tonight."

Elliot chuckled and rubbed his hands over his face.

"Okay now I know you're messing with me."

Olivia crinkled her brows together in confusion.

"What? Elliot I'm serious! It's Thanksgiving. Oh my God," Olivia's eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to her, "El, what are you going to wear?!"

"Liv, stop it. I know you're messing with me, okay? I'm not stupid."

Olivia rolled her eyes then threw her hands in the air out of frustration.

"Ugh! What the hell are you talking about?"

Elliot looked at her then.

This was a joke. It had to be, right? If it was November already then Maureen would have given birth like…what? A month ago? Wow. That was still crazy for him to think about.

_I'm going to be a grandpa! Jeez. I'm only forty-two, what the hell? Ha! _

But if it really was November then…wait…had he _missed it_? Did he miss the birth of his grandsons? Had Kathy been there? Did Maureen have to go through it alone?

Elliot's eyes widened and he quickly jumped to his feet.

If he had missed something as important as _that_, then he had some serious apologizing to do. He had to see them. He had to see his grandsons! Did they look like him? Did they have his nose or eyes or chin or _anything_? Were they identical or fraternal twins? Jesus Christ! He didn't even know what their names were! He had to find out! He just had to.

"Liv! Liv, where's your phone? I need to borrow your phone, or…no what am I saying? I have my own phone!"

Elliot quickly picked up the blankets that he had used last night and shook them. He felt like he was going to have a nervous break-down any second now. God, his daughter must hate him.

Olivia's eyes widened at Elliot's frantic movements and she quickly stood in front of him and grabbed his hands. He paused and looked at her with a terrified expression on his face.

"Elliot, what's wrong? What happened? Talk to me."

Elliot's eyes started swimming with tears and he blurted out:

"I missed it! I'm such a fucking ass hole, Olivia. I _missed it_!"

Olivia shook her head in confusion.

"Missed what? What did you miss?"

"Maureen! She gave birth and I missed it. The one thing I was actually excited for and I _missed _it. God I'm such a fucking loser."

Elliot dropped down to the couch and sat down with his head in his hands. He was such a shitty dad. His kids deserved better.

Olivia didn't really know what to say to that because honestly what was there _to_ say? So rather than say anything at all, Oliva instead went into action. She broke away from him so that she could find her phone. Once she found it she then tapped him on the shoulder and held it out in front of her. He didn't take it at first, instead he just stared up at her in disbelief.

Right now he felt so embarrassed and ashamed because in his mind, he wasn't any better than a dead-beat dad. He wasn't sure if he could _actually_ go through with it and call his oldest child to apologize.

He felt like he was an inch tall, but Olivia didn't seem to give a damn about that. She didn't care if his ego was bruised or _whatever _the hell this was. He was going to call her and he was going to do it right now.

When Elliot continued to stare dumbly at her cell phone, Olivia's gaze hardened. She was giving him a nasty glare and he instinctively looked away from her. She was treating him like a common criminal rather than a friend, which wasn't something he appreciated.

Olivia then rolled her eyes and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Call her you idiot before I do it for you."

Elliot let out a heavy sigh before he reached for that phone, found his daughter's name, and hit the 'call' button. He needed to man-up for his daughter's sake, but that didn't make him feel any less terrified of what her reaction might be.

He tapped his foot impatiently and waited for her to pick up.

Olivia smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. She then made herself scarce so that he could have some privacy.

Elliot smiled nervously at her in gratitude.

_Ring…_

Was she going to answer?

_Ring…_

What the hell was he even going to say?

_Ring…_

Fuck! She wasn't going to answer.

_Ri-_

"Olivia?"

Elliot's eyes widened and he swore that his heart stopped for a second. Maureen remained silent for a moment then tried again.

"Hello?"

Elliot coughed once before responding.

"Hey baby girl."

Her response broke his heart. It really did.

"Um…Who is this? I think you have the wrong number."

She was going to hang up if he didn't say something, he just knew it.

"Maureen it's me. It's your dad!"

Maureen gasped once then froze. Elliot may not have known this, but now she was just as nervous as he was. She had missed her dad like crazy, but she also knew that he needed time to get better. Was he better now? Is that why he was calling? That would be amazing if it were true.

"Hey daddy," she whispered. "How are you?"

Elliot let out a breath that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in.

"I'm good babe, very good. You?"

"Um…I'm doing good too." Maureen's voice cracked under the sudden wave of emotion that she felt. It felt so nice to hear from him.

"What have you been up to? Are you getting help? Are you better now?" she asked.

Elliot smiled and nodded his head when he answered her. From that point on it seemed that the bond between father and daughter was once again mended by nothing more than a phone call. He told her about everything that had happened since they last spoke. He told her about what was going on now with Olivia.

He apologized for not being in that hospital room after the twins were born. Maureen cried, he cried. It was a _very _long phone call, but it had definitely been needed. Maureen filled him in on everything that was going on with her as well.

The twins were named Charlie Manuel Garcia and Gabriel Antonio Garcia.

Their father is Alejandro Garcia, a man whom Elliot had only met on a few occasions none of which were very pleasant. According to Maureen, Alejandro's family had helped them both out _a lot_. Since Kathy had left sometime during the birth of the twins, Alejandro's mother and grandmother stepped up to help her through it.

They made it bearable.

Also one thing that Maureen found absolutely insane was that her sons were born on different days. Charlie was born first on October 3rd at 11:45pm and his brother Gabriel was born on October 4th at 12:02am.

"Isn't that crazy?!" she said "I mean what are the odds of that happening?"

She then continued to fill him in on the baby shower and how much fun that had been. That was the first time she had seen how huge her boyfriend's family really was. They were also very welcoming and brought a ton of food and presents.

"I'll have to show you pictures," she said.

She then went on to tell him that a large portion of his family kept on insisting that she learn Spanish because it was ridiculous for her not to know. Now she was learning the language, ha! His little Maureen, the girl who couldn't even roll her "R's"

Maureen was suddenly interrupted by someone (probably Alejandro) telling her that she needed to start getting ready.

"_Babe it's getting late. Who are you talking to anyways?_"

"_My dad. Don't worry I'm almost done I promise."_

"_Oh shit, you're dad's on the phone?" he paused "Hello sir! Happy Thanksgiving!"_

"_Kiss ass."_

"_What? Not even! Alright anyways I'm gonna jump in the shower."_

Elliot heard some shuffling on the other end of the line before Maureen spoke up again.

"Okay dad I gotta go. The twins are going to wake up from their nap any second now. It was nice talking to you. We should meet up sometime, so I can properly introduce my sons to their grandpa."

At that Elliot smiled so hard, his face hurt.

"Yes! Yes! Anywhere, anytime, yes!"

"How about next Saturday? We could meet up at the park if you want."

"Sure! Yeah, what park?"

"Central, duh."

Elliot chuckled.

"Okay Central it is. I'll see you then."

"Okay cool, bye dad!"

"Good-bye sweetie, I love you."

"Love you too, dad."

And with that the call ended.

Elliot jumped to his feet and started doing a little victory dance. That phone call had made his day. He felt great!

_Maybe I'm not such a bad dad after all?_

_._

* * *

.

Elliot and Olivia stood just outside of captain Cragen's home with the same worrisome expression on their faces. The reasons behind this expression however, were different.

Elliot was worried because he was about to enter a room filled with all of his old colleagues dressed like a slob. A fat, unemployed, depressing, nasty-ass, _slob. _Olivia had tried to reassure him several times on the way over here that he "looked fine" and that "no one was going to care". Yeah, bull shit. He looked embarrassing!

I mean come on, next to Olivia he looked like one of those guys from the Mucinex commercials. She looked sexy as hell, underneath her long black coat she was wearing a short navy blue dress and high heels. Navy blue and red were her colors! He knew that, shit everybody knew that. She looked hot, okay? He didn't. In fact he was wearing that same joke of an outfit from yesterday! He had washed it three times, but that was completely beside the point.

Everyone in there was going to look at him with pity which was the last thing he wanted to happen. Ah! This night was going to suck turkey ass, he could already tell.

Olivia on the other hand was worried about something a little less superficial and that was Elliot's infamous temper. What if someone brought up his past? She had warned everyone to stay away from that subject. She had even gone as far to say that if anyone so much as mentioned the name Kathy then she would shoot them in the foot.

Twice.

What if they started hounding both him and her with questions that neither one of them were comfortable with answering? Ugh! She just wanted to eat and have a good time. Was that too much to ask?

Elliot and Olivia turned to each other when the same thought occurred to them.

"If either one of us starts to feel uncomfortable," Elliot started.

"We grab as much food as we can then leave," finished Olivia.

They both nodded in agreement then took deep breaths and headed towards the front door.

Olivia bit her lip and rang the doorbell. Her stomach was twisting and turning with nerves which caused her palms to sweat as well.

"It's open!" she heard someone holler from inside the captain's house.

Olivia quickly twisted the knob and entered the familiar home. A sudden ambush of sound filled her ears while the mouth-watering smell of food penetrated her nostrils.

Her mouth began to salivate, a small smile transformed her face, and suddenly she felt warm all over. These people were more than just colleagues to her.

They were family.

Everyone waved to her in greeting and Munch who was standing nearby offered to take her coat.

_Hmm…perhaps tonight won't be so terrible after all?_

While Olivia handed Munch her coat she failed to notice the looks that everyone was directing at Elliot. Their expressions ranged from surprise to annoyance.

Cragen had warned everyone to be on their best behavior, but would they actually live up to his expectations?

It was too soon to tell.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this took me so long to write. I'm not sure why, but I had a really hard time putting this chapter together. **

**Oh! And also what are some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes? Let me know so I can include them in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Olivia couldn't help but glance over at Elliot with worry-filled eyes. There he was sitting alone in the corner on an abandoned chair staring down at the small plastic cup in his hands. Every now and then he would look up and glance around the room with hopeful eyes, but would just as soon look back down. A disappointed sigh would escape his lips. He'd wait a good ten or twenty minutes and then the cycle would repeat all over again.

Right now he reminded her of Stevie McCoy. A boy whom she had known back in elementary school. Every time her class played a sport or did anything even remotely fun, he was picked last for teams. He always sat alone and was constantly picked on by other boys. He was gawky looking what with his larger than life, thick-rimmed glasses and bony body.

No one had liked him because he was "too nerdy" and "awkward" and a "loser".

Then one day her class played baseball and Stevie McCoy's life changed forever. That boy hit the ball _so _hard that it went flying over the fence and into the street. A ten year old! It had been incredible. Stevie's team won and suddenly everyone _loved _him. He was "cool" and "talented" and everyone wanted him on their team. He grew up to be one of the most self-assured, kind, and funny guys she had ever met.

He went on to play baseball in high school and was known as the coach's secret weapon seeing as how he had the batting arm of a gorilla. Olivia had even dated him for a short time before he moved out to California with his parents during their junior year of high school…

Olivia's thoughts paused for a moment as she pictured Stevie McCoy from back in the day. Dirty-blonde hair, dark green eyes that were hardly ever noticeable behind his glasses, a sexy smile, and an amazing body that she had only ever seen once in her lifetime.

_Good times._

_Very __**very**__ good times. _

Olivia cleared her throat and smiled at Munch who was now giving her a funny look. She motioned for him to please continue telling their little group about his theory on cell phones. Their true purpose was meant—of course—for the government to spy on its people.

Anyways! The point was that if Elliot wanted to move on then he was going to have to be a big boy and figure out how to do it on his own. He was going to have to take a chance just like Stevie had. After all, he was only going to get better if _he_ wanted to.

She glanced over at him once more and felt like her heart was going to explode. He was making her so sad! She couldn't blame him for wanting to go home, but this was something that he _had_ to do. He had to learn how to socialize again, if he didn't he would only get worse and sink further into depression.

_I can't let that happen._

Olivia smiled at Munch and gracefully excused herself from the group. She then went over to Fin who was chatting with the captain about something that had happened to him at the supermarket.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating Fin"

Both men turned their attention towards Olivia once they saw her approaching.

"Pssh-ah! Yeah, I wish. Hey Liv what's up?"

Olivia smiled at them both.

"Hey guys. Well I must say you both look _so handsome_. I mean really wow!"

Fin could hardly refrain from rolling his eyes.

"Forget it Liv. I'm not talking to Fat Albert over there, okay? I'm just not and you can't make me."

Olivia glared at Fin before she looked over at the captain pleadingly.

He straightened his back and pointed towards the kitchen with his thumb.

"Is that the oven I hear?" He asked innocently before walking off in the opposite direction.

Olivia's jaw dropped at his lame excuse while Fin just laughed.

_Unbelievable!_

Olivia huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. She planned to ask Fin again, but by the time she looked over he was already on the other side of the room talking to Munch.

_Great. Just great. _

"It's not going to work you know."

Olivia jumped at the sudden voice in her ear. It was Casey.

"Gah! Jeeze woman you need a bell. And what's not going to work?"

Casey cast a sideways glance at Olivia with a knowing smile on her lips.

"Trying to get people to talk to Elliot. No one knows who he is anymore. Heck! I hardly even recognized him when he walked through the door! Come on Liv, what did you expect?"

Olivia shrugged and ran a hand through her hair.

"Shit I don't know. Just not this!" she said waving at the Eeyore look-alike in the chair.

Casey shrugged back at her in response.

"I know. He's so gloomy. Aren't fat people supposed to be jolly?"

Olivia smacked Casey's arm.

"Shut up!" Olivia said with venom in her voice.

Casey held her hands up in front of her in mock-surrender.

"Okay okay, lighten up already. It was just a joke."

"Yeah? Well it's not funny."

Casey smirked over at Olivia before taking a sip from her martini.

"Clearly."

.

* * *

.

Elliot's hands wouldn't stop shaking nor would his foot stop tapping. His anxiety was killing him. He needed a drink. Something. Anything! Hell, even a shitty little Bud Light would help right now.

Elliot's hand clenched into a tight fist and he took a small sip of his water. His face scrunched up in disappointment as a result. He didn't want water he wanted fucking vodka. He didn't need alcohol on a daily basis like some people, but when he needed it, he _needed it_. He could control himself, but only to some degree.

Elliot gulped whenever he caught someone looking at him. He didn't want to be here. He wanted hide. Ugh! He just needed something to take the edge off. Maybe just a sip? A tiny little drop never hurt anyone, right?

_No, I can't do that._

Elliot took another disappointing sip of water. He didn't _dare_ look at the captain's current selection of alcohol. He couldn't, it was too tempting.

Unfortunately Elliot knew that there was no way he was going to be able to stop once he started. _If_ he started. He was a binge alcoholic which meant that he didn't have limits when it came to alcohol. He was either completely sober or fucked-up drunk. There was no in-between for him.

Suddenly a Corona commercial flashed across a TV screen that no one was paying attention to. He hadn't been either until _now_. There were half-naked women smiling as they sipped from their beers on the beach.

_Just a sip. Just one. That's all I need. Maybe I could hide it in my jacket then drink it in the bathroom. No one would notice. No one. _

Elliot could hardly contain his drool at the forbidden fantasy. He could already taste the sinful liquid on his lips. He knew that it would make him feel better. Isn't that what Olivia wanted anyhow? For him to feel better.

A sip of alcohol would do that.

_Just one…_

"Nah ah Daddy. You pomised Nivia."

Elliot practically jumped out of his skin when he saw his son standing in front of him. He was shaking his finger 'no' with an angry expression on his face.

_Eli._

Elliot nodded his head in agreement and smiled sadly at his son.

"You're right," he whispered, "I'm sorry, buddy."

"Hey Dad," Kathleen said all of a sudden.

_When did she get here?_

Elliot glanced up and smiled at his daughter. He quickly embraced her in a tight hug then looked around for his son.

He was gone.

.

* * *

.

By the time dinner rolled around everyone was seated around two long tables with their heads bowed in prayer.

At one table sat Nick Amaro and his daughter Zara, Amanda Rollins, Melinda, her husband Joseph, and her daughter Kim (who was the same age as Zara), Fin Tutuola and his son Ken, John Munch, and Alex Cabot.

On the other table was Captain Cragen, his brother Charlie and sister-law Rosie, Casey Novak, Rafael Barba and his cousin José, Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler and his daughter Kathleen.

When the captain finished his prayer everyone said "amen" and proceeded to dig into their meals. Olivia was on Elliot's right while Kathleen sat on his left. Across from him was Rafael, who had his cousin and Casey on either side of him.

Elliot hardly looked up from his food. He didn't know why, but the thought of talking to someone that he hardly knew sent a panicked quiver through his body. He felt shy which was so unlike him.

Olivia decided to help the situation along.

She kicked Rafael in the shin and motioned for him to say something to her former partner.

Barba glared at the sergeant, but decided to at least try and be civil towards the weirdo in front of him.

"So…um…"

_Shit what the fuck is his name?_ Barba asked himself.

_Elliot_, mouthed Olivia.

Barba smiled at her gratefully.

"So Elliot, I see that you have a Princeton sweatshirt on. That's nice. I graduated from there as well."

Elliot looked up then.

"It's not mine."

Awkward silence followed after that and Olivia smacked herself on the forehead.

_Well that was blunt._

Elliot was being so boring! He was usually the life of the party, but to be honest it would've been easier having a conversation with a rock.

Rafael didn't really know what to say to that. He settled for scooping up a little bit of mashed potatoes and shoving that in his mouth instead.

Olivia perked up when she saw that Barba was eating something that she had made. It was the easiest thing in the world to make, but still she took pride in the fact that he wasn't choking or something.

Olivia decided to speak up then.

"I'm glad I have the next few days off. El and I are going Black Friday shopping after dinner. I can't remember the last time I did that."

Kathleen rolled her eyes at the thought of shopping on Black Friday.

"Pssh good luck."

Olivia smirked when Elliot looked over at her with wide eyes.

"Wait we _are_?" he hated crowds "Why didn't you tell me?"

Olivia squeezed Elliot's shoulder reassuringly.

"Because I knew you wouldn't come to dinner if I told you ahead of time. Relax it'll be fine."

Elliot dropped his fork and leaned back in his chair.

"Can't you go without me?" he whined.

"Nope" Olivia said before chomping down on a giant slice of ham.

Elliot laughed as a sudden memory occurred to him.

"Shit, remember when we had to arrest that crazy dude on Black Friday?"

Olivia's eyes widened and she smiled.

"Yes! Oh my God that was insane!"

Elliot bit his lip and turned to the people around him. They were looking at him with curiosity in their eyes. This was his chance to show them who he really was. He was a funny guy okay? He really was. Well…sometimes anyways.

_Ah, fuck it._

He was going to take a chance and actually try socializing for once. He was going to fill them in on what had happened. He was a bit nervous at first about talking to these people, but then that feeling quickly subsided once he got lost in the story.

Here's what had happened:

They had been called down to a lingerie store because all other units were "too busy" to handle this stupid situation. There had been two women there. A short, little old Asian lady, and a thin black woman with beautiful wavy dark hair who couldn't have been older than thirty.

They had apparently thrown punches at each other because they both wanted the same lacy black thong. The store was having a sale: all thongs were $1. Every woman in her right mind was there because these thongs were usually seven dollars each!

Two security guards had managed to break them up by the time Elliot and Olivia got there. When the detectives asked both women what had happened, the two ladies stood up and started screaming at each other.

They both accused the other of trying to steal the thong away even though they had obviously touched it at the same time. The Asian lady sprang at the other unsuspecting woman and got a hold of her hair. Elliot and Olivia grabbed them both from behind and tried to pull the two women apart.

When they did finally separate them something unexpected happen. The black woman's hair came off. She had been wearing a wig!

Oh it was just like Jerry Springer.

No, _better _than Jerry Springer.

The old lady started cursing at the younger woman.

"I had first! It no yours, you…you…"

They couldn't understand anything else she said because it had been in Chinese.

The other woman flailed in Olivia's arms as she tried to break free. She was _pissed._

"Let me at her! You fucking bitch!"

The women kept trying to get at each other. A crowd was gathering.

Suddenly a loud _pop_ sounded which caused all the women in the store to scream.

"He has a gun!" someone shouted.

Those in the center of the room hit the ground while others made a break for the door.

The guy with a gun turned out to be a crazy old white dude who wasn't wearing anything but a pair of boxers and a hockey mask.

Elliot and Olivia shoved the two women out of the way. They reached for their guns, but the man snarled at them and told them to keep their hands where he could see them.

Apparently _he_ wanted the panties for himself! He asked the old lady to hand them over.

She did.

And with that he ran out of the store with two other panties in his hands.

It had been the most _bizarre thing_ either detective had ever seen.

Rafael couldn't stop laughing after Elliot described how the little old lady had pulled off the other woman's wig. He impersonated them both so well!

Once he managed to calm down he took a sip of wine. His face was flushed and when his observant eyes caught the look that Benson was currently giving Stabler he got a glimpse at what their partnership must have been like. Some had described it as cute while others said it was annoying and that they wished these two would just get a room already.

She was looking at Stabler adoringly, lovingly even. Whenever his eyes landed on her he would portray the same emotion. They were obviously a lot closer than Barba had originally assumed.

The sight of it made him smile. Olivia looked at him suspiciously with a smile of her own on her face.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing." He said all too innocently

_I give these two a month before they end up dating. _

_._

* * *

_._

6:00 am

Elliot helped Liv carry the last of their shopping bags into her apartment. He was _exhausted_, they both were.

After all they had started their shopping mission at midnight, stopped to grab some breakfast at five, and just now got home. Olivia threw her shopping bags onto her bedroom floor and flopped down onto her bed. She was so tired that she didn't even take her bra or make-up off.

Luckily she had brought a change of clothes so she wasn't too uncomfortable right now. She had a pair of jeans, and a plain black hoodie on with some sneakers. She didn't take the sneakers off either.

Olivia's eye lids drooped heavily and she was mere seconds away from falling asleep. She was about to do just that when she heard something vibrate.

She had a text message.

She sleepily reached for her phone. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust so that she could read the message properly.

It was from Brian.

_Can we talk? _

Olivia smiled down at the screen in front of her and quickly texted him back.

_Sure! When? -O_

_Let's have lunch. How does 1 sound? -B_

_Perfect. See u then. __ -O _

_I love you. –B_

_I want this to work. –B_

_I miss you, babe.-B_

Olivia texted a quick "love u too" back to him before she passed out, no longer able to keep her eyes open.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you for your feedback everyone! **

Brian Cassidy was currently positioned at his security-guard post with a grim expression on his face. He hated his job—nothing ever happened here. What the hell did a library need with a security guard anyways? What did they think? That some psycho book nerd would just come in here one day and wipe them out? Please.

So just like every other day, Brian found his thoughts wandering as they often did.

He thought of his life, of his dead career, but more importantly he thought of his girl.

_Olivia_.

The image of her kind eyes and sweet smile came to him then. He missed her like crazy and hated fighting with her, but for once it seemed that they just couldn't see eye to eye on something.

And that was when an unwelcome image of Elliot fucking Stabler entered his mind.

_Fucking prick._

He hated him. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face multiple times. Part of the reason for this anger was because he was jealous. Of course he was, who wouldn't be? He was only a man after all. Then again the dude was the size of an elephant, so maybe his jealousy was unjustified for the time being.

Whatever.

The other reason why Elliot Stabler was at the top of his shit list. The _number one _reason why he hated that fucker was because of Olivia. He loved that woman more than he had ever loved anyone in his entire life. He felt fiercely protective over her.

And he had to watch her fall apart.

After Elliot left, Olivia changed. She became bitter, detached, and angry. He could tell that she was hurting inside. He wanted to change that. When they first went out he did everything that he could to make her smile, to make her laugh, to make her _happy_. And it worked. She became less miserable and smiled a lot more often. She was like her old self again or close to it anyways.

Out of everything birthdays and holidays seemed to be the worst part. Liv might as well have been at a funeral for all the fun she would have. Usually she and Elliot were joined at the hip during any social gathering with their colleagues, but since he wasn't there it seemed that she felt out of place.

It was sort of like…Okay you know how when you're a kid and your parents make you go to parties with them? Whether it be a party with their friends or your own relatives it's usually pretty boring, right? But there's always that _one_ kid that you have fun with, maybe two if you're lucky. Well it was sort of like that—okay it was _exactly _like that. Elliot was the kid that Liv had fun with and without him, she was bored out of her mind.

Then there was the other issue which was the photograph.

Sometimes he would catch her staring at an old picture of herself and Elliot. It was a Christmas photo of them smiling with their arms wrapped around each other. They were smiling childishly like there was some sort of inside joke that only they knew about. She would sometimes just cry and smile at the image. Other times she wouldn't do anything, but stare intently at the photograph as if she were memorizing it.

When things became too difficult at work she would occasionally talk to Brian about it, but more often than not she would call Elliot. He would never answer of course which always put her in a bad mood afterwards.

He didn't care that she missed another man because Brian knew that she couldn't help it. _That _man was her best friend and as her best friend he had a job to do. He was supposed to be there for her like she had been there for him throughout the years. He wasn't.

The whole thing just pissed him the fuck off. Elliot was so Goddamn selfish. Olivia was a strong woman, no doubt about it, but she was also human. She had counted on Elliot to be the one person on this planet that she could trust. He betrayed that trust and for that Brian would always despise the bastard.

He didn't care what Elliot's reasons were. The fact of the matter was that he had abandoned Liv—plain and simple. He made her cry, he made her ask 'what's the matter with me Brian? Why did he leave? I don't understand' and Brian would never have an answer for her.

It was like a part of her was missing.

She only got worse after the attack. In fact she became the most vulnerable he had ever seen her. She cried herself to sleep almost every night and all he could ever do was hold her. If she had been angry before she was even more-so after that. She hardly ever touched him. She would flinch every time he raised one of his hands to caress her cheek or hold her hand.

She was a mess.

Now that she was finally starting to get better. Now that everything was getting back to normal. Who decided to show their fucking face? Elliot Stabler.

Fuck him. Fuck him. _Fuck him._

He had hurt Olivia and now he was here asking for favors all of a sudden? _What?_

Brian knew she wasn't one for holding grudges or anything, but damn! If he had been her he would have _never_ spoken to Elliot again.

He wished she hated him as much as he did, but that was never going to happen and he knew it. He had to find some way to accept it.

Brian sighed and glanced up at the clock that was above his head. His shift was over. He was getting off of work early for once. A couple of minutes passed and his co-worker Adam Porter came over to take his place so that he could leave.

Brian nodded at Porter.

He swiftly changed his clothes, grabbed his backpack, and left the building.

.

* * *

.

Olivia was in a deep sleep. Drool was pooled around her mouth and on her pillow. Her hair was a mess and her face wasn't much better since her make-up was so badly smudged. She looked like a clown, a pretty clown, but a clown all the same.

She was woken up by a sudden rush of music that was blasting next to her ear. It startled her. She quickly sat up in bed with a thin layer of sweat coating her face. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She involuntarily placed a hand against it.

The music was coming from her phone, she realized.

It was Brian's ringtone.

"…Like baby, baby, baby noo

Like baby, baby, baby ooh

Thought you'd always be mine, mine

Oh, for you I would have done whatever

And I just can't believe we ain't together

And I wanna play it cool, but

I'm losing you

I'll buy you anything

I'll buy you any ring…"

Brian hated Justin Bieber, so _naturally _she chose 'Baby' as his ringtone.

Hehe.

Halfway through the song she heard Elliot groan from the living room.

"Oh Jesus Christ make it stop already!"

Olivia rolled her eyes and answered her phone.

"Hello?" her eyes widened at the sound of her voice. She sounded like a man! Olivia cleared her throat and tried again. "Hello?"

She could hear voices on the other end of the line. It sounded like he was in a crowded place. The subway maybe? What was he doing there?

Then it dawned on her.

They were supposed to have lunch! He was probably on his way from work right now!

"Hey babe what did you decide? Sushi or burgers or pizza or what?"

Olivia swallowed down her guilt and chose what sounded healthiest.

After all she _was_ on a diet starting today.

"Sushi. The usual place."

"Cool. I should be there in about…twenty minutes." He paused and she heard him tell someone to 'shove it up their asshole' before he spoke to her again. "Okay bye Liv I'll talk to you in a little bit, love ya."

After he hung up Olivia threw her phone over her shoulder and ran around her bedroom at a speed that even the Flash would have been proud of.

She washed her body, but not her hair.

She changed her bra and panties.

Her old outfit was replaced with a new one. Jeans were replaced by slacks. The sweatshirt was replaced by a white long-sleeved shirt. Her sneakers were replaced with her favorite pair of leather boots. A long winter coat went on top of that along with a matching scarf.

She was almost ready.

A sleep-deprived Elliot walked into her room then. He rubbed his eyes with the side of his hand and blinked at her in confusion. His voice was raspy when he spoke.

"What's going on? I thought you didn't have work today."

Olivia grabbed her hair brush and went to battle against the evil knots gathered around her head for a good five minutes or so.

"I don't. I'm meeting Brian. Fuck this hurts!"

Elliot raised an eye brow at how fast she was trying to brush her hair. She would end up bald by the time they finished talking.

"Liv slow down. The guy can wait five minutes. Besides you still have to worry about your…um…" He pointed to his eyes with his index finger and grimaced "You know this stuff."

Olivia stomped her foot out of frustration and marched over to the bathroom again to check her reflection.

_Now what?_

"AH! Holy shit!"

She ran back into her bedroom then, pointing to her face. She was mortified.

"El, I look like a raccoon!

Sure the lipstick had all but faded away, but for some reason the make-up around her eyes had gotten worse. It looked darker somehow. How was that even possible?

She should have known better than to try new mascara, especially a cheap one from 7/11.

"I can't go out in public looking like this! Shit. Where are my make-up wipes?" She looked around her room frantically and snapped at Elliot "Help me find them!"

Elliot saluted her like he was back in the marines or something.

"I'm on it."

.

* * *

.

Brian had been waiting for Olivia to show up for a good half an hour. The waitress had brought him some waters. He settled for stirring the ice in his drink around with a straw while his head rested against his hand.

He was bored, but he didn't mind waiting.

They needed to have this conversation and _yes _it was going to be a conversation not an argument. He had a cool head. He was ready to hear what she had to say and he only hoped that she would listen to him as well.

The question is:

_What's taking her so long?_

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* * *

.

Olivia had managed to find her make-up wipes, but they were old as hell. They may as well have been dryer sheets. It had taken her a few tries, but eventually she got everything off. She applied a light amount of concealer and eye-liner.

She was in such a rush that she forgot all about her hair.

Elliot told her to fuck the hair and just put it up in a pony-tail.

_Good idea._

She felt flustered as she rushed around the apartment looking for everything that she needed. The only thing left now were her keys. Elliot whistled and stood by the door with them dangling from his fingertips.

She gave him a thankful kiss on the lips then rushed out of the apartment. She just hoped Brian hadn't been waiting around for too long.

.

* * *

.

Elliot's eyes widened to the size of bowling balls after Liv kissed him. She was in such a rush that she didn't even notice how it affected him. Nor did she seem to care for that matter. The door slammed behind her and Elliot leaned against it. He exhaled nervously and placed his fingertips against his lips.

It hadn't meant anything. There was no passion placed behind it. No hint-y touches afterwards. She didn't want him. It was just a 'thank you for your help' type of kiss. That was all. He shouldn't read too much into it, right? He shouldn't get his hopes up.

Elliot's eyes widened yet again and he smacked his palms on either side of his face. What the heck was going on in his head? He didn't want Olivia! Not _that way._

Elliot laughed then. He sounded a little crazed—hysterical even. I mean the thought of it was ludicrous! Him and Olivia? Ha! It would never work.

They would see each other so often, it would get annoying.

_But I did work with the woman for ten years. We fought sometimes, but we always made up. We were unstoppable together…_

What if it didn't work out?

_But what if it did…_

What about the kids? What would they think? What would Kathy think?

_Who cares? They're all adults. They'll live._

Olivia wanted kids. He knew she did and probably always would. He didn't want to have any more children.

_We could adopt. Or get a cat. Or a dog. Maybe even a fish. Or all three! _

At that thought Elliot banged his forehead against the wall a couple of times. She was off the market! He had to stop thinking like this.

_Liv and I are never going to happen. She's taken—end of story. She respected my marriage. It's only fair that I respect her relationship with Cassidy. __**Cassidy. **__Bleh. What kind of stupid ass name is that anyway? It's one syllable away from being Quesadilla! Ugh. Imagine? Olivia Cassidy. Mrs. Cassidy. Mrs. __**Olivia Cassidy.**_

He could see it now. Liv and Brian at the altar saying their vows. She would be happy. He would be happy. Everyone on the Goddamn planet would be happy for _Olivia and Brian_. Everyone but Elliot.

He didn't want her to get married. Not to _Brian_. Not to anyone.

_But me. _

Elliot chewed on the corner of his lip. This was quite the predicament he had found himself in. He had grown to love Benson over the years, of course, but was he _in love_ with her?

He thought about that for a moment.

A stream of happy memories flooded his mind. Sad ones too. Then something occurred to him. Who had he always returned to? Who couldn't he live without? His work wife or his _actual _wife?

Fuck.

Well based off whose apartment he was currently in, that part was obvious. Perhaps this was fate? And who was he to mess with something as powerful as fate?

Hmm…

If those two were really meant to be together then their relationship should be able to withstand anything, right? Right. After all Elliot had to make sure that Brian deserved Olivia in the first place. It was his civic duty. Yes, that's it.

He wasn't going to try and break them up (ha!) he was simply going to remind her that there were other options out there. She didn't have to stay with Cassidy if she didn't want to…

_Good luck Brian._

_May the best man win._

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. Here's the next chapter.**

**Sorry it's so short. **

* * *

Olivia and Brian were currently engaged in an intense stare-down. They had made their points of view perfectly clear on the matter concerning Stabler. Olivia admitted that she loved Elliot like a brother. He was family and she couldn't just turn her back on him. He had been through too much already.

Brian could understand her line of thinking. He wasn't heartless. The only thing that he had a problem accepting was this huge _secret _that she was keeping from him. He wanted to know why Stabler needed her help in the first place, but she refused to tell him the real reason.

She claimed that if he wanted to know about her old partner, then Brian would have to ask him not her. Elliot knew that she knew everything, but he had specifically asked her not to tell anyone. He was a private person, no one needed to know what had happened to him or his family.

Brian just couldn't comprehend it. He and Olivia were in a relationship, they weren't supposed to keep secrets from one another. Secrets were what tore couples apart. He had pleaded with her to just _tell him_ so that he could understand what Elliot was going through.

Olivia had responded by telling him that Elliot's demons had absolutely nothing to do with their relationship. It wasn't like she was keeping a secret about something that _she _had done. Her friends business wasn't automatically Brian's business just because they were in a relationship. End of story.

Brian sighed and leaned back in his chair. He tapped his fingertips together a few times before he lowered his hands. He didn't know what to say. Brian looked away from his girlfriend, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Just then the waitress came over and placed the check in between them. She asked if she could get them anything else. Olivia politely shook her head 'no' and thanked her.

As soon as the waitress was gone Brian sat up straight and leaned his elbows on the table in front of him.

"Alright."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, what?"

"Stabler can stay."

Olivia's face broke out into a wide grin. She was about to thank him for being so understanding, but Brian quickly raised a finger to silence her.

"But I do have a few conditions."

Olivia's face fell. She looked at him suspiciously and instinctively leaned away from him.

"What?" she slowly asked.

"He has to pay rent, buy groceries from time to time, and _clean. _The last thing I want to do is pick up after a grown man."

Olivia chuckled at that last part. Brian was such a clean freak.

"Okay, fair enough."

"I also don't want him bringing people over past nine o'clock. You and I both have work. I don't want to be kept up because his dumb ass is too loud."

Olivia nodded in understanding. That was also reasonable.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of no."

Olivia smiled and quickly jumped out of her seat. She embraced Brian in a tight hug and kissed his face all over in gratitude. She hugged him one last time and whispered in his ear:

"I knew you'd understand."

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* * *

.

People stopped and stared bluntly at the man that ran past them. A few ass holes pointed at him and laughed as they saw his fat bob up and down. Others nodded their heads in respect. This guy may be big but at least he was _doing _something about it.

He was huge, sweaty, and appeared to be on the verge of a heart attack. His breathing came in strong, heavy pants. His grey sweatshirt and matching sweats were completely soaked. He was determined, that much was obvious.

No one was really quite sure how long the man had been running, but it was obvious that he couldn't possibly last much longer.

Could he?

Two blonde teenagers moved out of his way. Their faces transformed into open expressions of disgust. They sipped from their Starbucks straws and judged him with their eyes.

"Eww, look at that fat ass" he heard one of them say as he ran past them.

The other responded with "Dude, he's so gross. Ugh. People that big shouldn't be allowed to go out in public."

The running fat man felt a sharp pang in his chest. Their words were hurtful, but he wouldn't let that faze him. He was going to run one mile and he wasn't going to stop no matter what.

He passed more people as he jogged through the park. He checked his watch and saw that he had only run the equivalent of two laps so far. Jesus!

Elliot could feel himself slowing down. His chest was burning. His thighs, ass, arms, and stomach felt itchy. A cramp was forming on his left side. Sweat was getting in his eyes and he felt like stopping. The weight on his body was too much. He couldn't do this. He couldn't.

_Yes I can._

_No I can't._

_Yes I can._

_No I can't._

_I'm dying!_

_Pain is temporary._

_But, I'm dying! _

_Ahhhhhh! _

Suddenly an image of one of his old drill instructors popped into his mind. _Come on soldier! _He said. _Come on you goddamn pussy! Move! Move! Move! Let's go! _

Elliot clenched his teeth together and picked up the pace a little bit. God his knee was killing him. He hadn't ran since…shit he couldn't even remember that's how long ago it was.

Either way he wasn't going to stop running until he accomplished his goal. It was mind over matter and that's all there was to it. He could do this. He could.

He was running for himself.

He was running for Olivia. He wanted to make her proud. He wanted to turn her on. He wanted to be able to pick her up and bounce her on his...

Anyways.

He was running for his children. The healthier he was, the longer he'd be around.

Elliot was going to get his life back together if it was the last thing he did.

Elliot just needed to take his mind off of the pain and think of something else. He settled for picturing what he would look like by next summer. His goal was to lose 100 pounds by next July. He would be around the same weight that he had been in during his early 20's. Now _that _would be amazing. He'd be the hottest dad in town.

Then he wondered what Kathy would think if she ever saw him once he was fit. Ha! He could just imagine the look on her face. Oooh. He couldn't wait for that moment.

He focused on his breathing, the trees, the sidewalk, and the homeless guy over there. He focused on the dog and owner that were now approaching him. He focused on anything but what he was doing. God, he felt like he was going to pass out. He wasn't breathing properly. It felt more like he was gasping desperately for air.

Elliot checked his watch once more and ran a little bit faster. He was almost done. This was his last lap.

Suddenly his phone started to ring. It was Olivia's ringtone.

Elliot had no choice but to ignore it for now. Unfortunately people were staring at him as her damn ringtone went off. It was that theme song from Game of Thrones.

You know the one with the violins and the bad ass drums and shit. If you don't know then look it up, come on people get with it. It's on YouTube and everything.

Elliot could only imagine how hilarious he must look right now. What with him running to such intense music and everything.

His watch started beeping which meant that his goal had been completed for the day.

He purposefully pretended to run in slow motion when the theme started up again. She was calling him once more.

A woman cheered him on as the song went off and he couldn't help but bust up laughing. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Fuck yeah! That's my shit!"

Elliot quickly slowed down to a stop and took his phone out of his pocket. He put it on speaker and wiped the sweat of his face with a small towel he had stuffed in his other pocket. He continued to gasp for air as he wheezed a greeting into the phone

"Helloooooooo. Sexy... Stabler... at your... service," he panted.

Man he felt great! He felt alive again. Sore as hell, but alive! Running always had that effect on him.

"Oh, why hello there. What can I get for twenty bucks then big boy?"

Elliot answered her in his best seductive voice, "A hug"

Olivia laughed at him.

"Cheap ass."

Elliot changed his voice "Honey please. This ass is worth at least 100 dollars."

"Ha! That's what you think."

"Oh! Pssh. Okay, rude!"

He laughed at her laugh and walked over to the water fountain.

"So how did it go? Am I homeless or is Brian?"

"Neither actually. It looks like you're going to be staying with us for a little while."

He smiled at that. He had missed his old friend/possible love of his life/sexy partner/ future sex slave (kidding).

_Ah. Just you wait Benson. I'll win your heart one way or another. _

Elliot and Olivia conversed some more before they eventually hung up. He walked around the park for a little while longer then eventually wandered into the city.

He walked along the familiar streets with ease.

Never once did he notice that something wasn't right.

Never once did he stop and question the small shadow that seemed to follow him around.

Never once did he stop to think:

_I'm being watched._

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* * *

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**A/N: Thanks for reading.**


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